Hamburg, without a point so far in Group H, will be looking to make amends with the visit of Porto.

Coach Thomas Doll admitted: “It hurts a lot to look at the table. We must show that our place in this competition is justified.”

“The 4-1 loss at Porto was painful for us. I feel my players will show a completely different face on Wednesday.”

Much will depend on the form of Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart, who returned to the team two weeks ago after a two-month injury layoff and is set for his first Champions League appearance since December 2004.

“It is time to pick up points,” van der Vaart said. “In football, strange things happen. We are still hopeful of playing in Europe after the winter.”

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